


Red Metal

by Ruthipead



Category: Naruto
Genre: Engineers, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 10:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17506496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruthipead/pseuds/Ruthipead
Summary: What is a prodigy? It was a word tossed around to many clan children. It tells who has skills in becoming a ninja from an early stage in life. Katsu disagrees.





	1. Prologue

"Another prodigy you say?"

A gruff voice filled the air. There on a chair was an old man who held calculating eyes.

"Yes, sir. But not in the way you think."

All prodigies were usually the same. They excelled in either intelligence or skills in battle. Maybe even both. His eyes shined in curiosity. How different was this "prodigy"?

"Not the way I think? Enlighten me."

"She excels in something other than the skill in battle or the intelligence of a strategist. However, her skills lean towards another subject."

The old man's eyes narrowed. What? Did this child excel in dance? Art? If so, it was a waste of his time.

"What is this subject you speak of?"

The masked ninja gulped slightly. The sound of his commanding voice could shake the world.

"Science and Math sir."

The old man's eyes widened. Science and Math was something more focused within civilian schools. Although it does cross into chakra at times, usually they do not come together.

"And why is this important? The studies of a civilian child shouldn't be too relevant."

"This child…"

The ninja paused.

"Has created a weapon far stronger than I could imagine a child can do…"

Now, this caught the interest of the old man. A weapon? What weapon could be that dangerous? Clearly, it couldn't be a jutsu. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And what kind of weapon is this thing?"

The ninja straightened up.

"A bomb."

* * *

A small girl sat in a chair, hunched over a few blueprints along with metal scraps.

"Katsu! Don't make me come in there and drag you out!"

Kastu huffed, ignoring the yellings from the man on the other side of the metal door.

"Yo, Wall-E."

Kat rolled over to another desk, looking through the mess of papers that lay on it.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

A robotic voice sounded through the lab. Kat shoved a few things aside from the desk, frantically looking through the mess.

"Do you know where I left my Neodymium magnets at."

"You left it in the left corner of the metal desk. Underneath the blueprints Ma'am."

The AI's reply was short and to the point. Kat quickly glided on over to the metal desk, lifting the blueprints.

"KATSU!"

Kat jumped at the sound. She quickly glared at the metal door as it opened.

"Wall-E! I thought I told you not to let anyone in!"

"I'm sorry ma'am but Shijo's commands overrule your commands."

Kat raised her hands in the air in frustration.

"What!? I'm the one who made you for god sake!"

"Don't blame the AI Katsu."

Kat turned to face Shijo. He held a stern angry face as he glared at Kat. He walked up to the child, his body stiff.

"Don't think you're off the hook either."

Kat stood frozen as she looked up at the older male. She smiled nervously as she looked to the side. "What? I don't know what your saying…"

"Don't play that with me, young ma'am." His voice had a slight growl. "You blew up the left side of the house!"

"I did not! Only 20% of the left area which is not the whole thing-"

Kat completely stopped talking once Shijo had released killing intent. It still wasn't something she was used to even if she felt it a lot these days.

"O-Okay. Maybe I did blow the place up but!" Kat grinned as she quickly grabbed a blueprint along a small machine. "With that, I managed to figure out how to convert chakra into electrical energy!"

She did a few jazz hands, showing off the machine. Shijo nearly facepalmed.

"You did all that for a single machine…"

"Yup!"

…

"No more lab time for 3 days."

"WHAT! WHY!? NO!"


	2. Metal Work

Ever since she was small, she knew how to build. Anything she could get her hands on, it would be turned into something entirely different. Katsu's parents thought of her as smart. Not a prodigy. That was something reserved for ninjas.

When her mother had died, Katsu's father had become obsessed with her becoming a ninja. He was convinced that because he was a shinobi, she could easily become a kunoichi. He was wrong.

On her first day, she had called out the teachers on what they were teaching and pointing out every flaw. A few days later, she became a complete failure in combat. Many of the teachers were convinced the young girl had no chance in becoming a ninja.

They were right.

"Sensei! I can't do it!"

A simple jutsu. It was the clone jutsu. Something that could be done easily. Yet something blocked her from using it.

One of the teachers approached the girl, watching her struggle to get it right. The hand signs were correctly done but no chakra was expelling.

"Are you releasing your chakra?"

Katsu pouted and nodded. "I can feel it too! Why doesn't it work!"

The teacher's brows furrowed in confusion. Everything seemed to be fine but the clones weren't appearing. There was another problem. He could barely feel her chakra. He had never noticed her low chakra aura. It was blended with all the strong auras of the clan kids.

"Hmm. I need to talk with your father."

"Huh?"

* * *

Katsu had an incredibly small chakra supply. It was so small that a simple clone jutsu couldn't form. She had figured this out when trying her other jutsus. Nothing worked.

"What are you talking about? I'm a shinobi! She should have a big enough chakra supply to do at least one clone!"

Her father's shouts echoed through the empty house. The teachers had told him about her small supply of chakra and he was furious. He seemed to take it as an insult to himself.

"This is an uncommon case but it can happen. Especially because her mother was a civilian."

The mention of her mother made Katsu flinch. Her father never liked it when her dead mother was mentioned. She could feel the killer intent from her father. Her body shook as she listened closer.

Her father took a breath and sighed. "Alright. Thank you."

The Ninja soon left the house. It was quiet again. The silence did not comfort Katsu.

"Katsu."

Katsu looked up to her father. Her hands still shook from the killer intent. His stern angry face didn't help either.

"You're still becoming a ninja."

* * *

Academy was hell. As the students got older, they got better. Katsu's improvement went to a complete stop. Spars were not enjoyable and she came back bruised and broken. The students didn't help for they ridiculed her for her bad grades and bad fighting skills.

Katsu made sure not to let it get to her but it was hard sometimes. She just wanted to punch their faces but she knew they outmatched her. All she had were her words, so she used them.

"Awe, look at poor Katsu. At the bottom of the list again."

Kids laughed. It was a normal thing to do the 'laugh at Katsu's failures'.

"Poor you for thinking you have to ridicule the worst person to make you feel better."

Katsu's voice was sharp. She glared at the bully before turning around and walking away.

Going to the academy was bad but coming home was worse. Her father had tried to teach her on taijutsu. Sadly, her motivation had drained out and teaching her was like teaching a rock.

After the rough beating from her father, she heads straight towards her room. It was the only place she enjoyed. It was quiet and peaceful. Her tools were there and machines. She played around with magnets and robots. It was more fun than being a ninja.

Of course, getting the items needed to make these robots and tools weren't easy. Her father had nearly broken her robot when he figured out her side projects. She had to keep these a secret.

And so she did.

Searching through trash was not fun. It smelled bad most of the time and she usually didn't get what she needed.

But one day, a certain man took pity.

"Hey, kid."

Katsu poked her head out of a box. The man had a beard with a red apron. He was quite tall and wore glasses.

"Oh. Hi."

She turned back into the box, looking through the trash.

"Kid, whatcha lookin for?"

Katsu huffed. Couldn't she get some peace for once?

"Metal. Specifically Aluminum."

The man raised an eyebrow. Why would this child be looking for some metal?

"Why you need it. Is it some project of yours."

Katsu huffed and tilted her head.

"You can say that."

She continued to search through the trash, ignoring the man who watched her.

"Well then. How about I getcha some. I own a weapon shop so I suppose I can supply you with some. Don't want you diggin through the trash."

Katsu's head shot up out of the trash bin.

"Yes please!"


	3. Tight Bandage

The man, named Fujio, supplied her with metal scraps. Katsu was extremely grateful. With more material, she was able to make her 'projects' more stable. She also learned a bit from the man. He knew how to craft swords and katanas. As well as the differences.

It was useful. Katsu now knew how to bend metals and shape them easier. Along with learning from the man, she had another place that felt comfortable. It was much better than the silence of her house.

Of course, the man wasn't doing this all for free.

"KATSU! GET THE STEEL QUICK!"

"Y-YES SIR!"

His shop was very popular in the ninja world. Because of this, the shop was busy.

"KATSU, TAKE THE CUSTOMER!"

"YES SIR!"

Something about the shop was fun. Maybe due to the movement around the shop or the loud sounds of metal clashing.

Something about it was endearing.

"Katsu. Nice work today."

Fujio ruffled the small girl's hair. His hands were big and calloused from the work he does.

"Make sure to come back the next weekend. I definitely need your help."

He grabbed a bag full of metal and handed it over. Katsu grabbed it with her two hands.

"Make sure you get home safely."

"Thank you!" Katsu bowed and did a u-turn.

And back home she went.

* * *

Academy was still hell.

No matter what she tried, her skills never improved. All that seemed to improve was her skill in math and science. Not like the academy cared for those two subjects.

"Hey! Bottom Last!"

Yes, that was now her new nickname in the school. It's not like the kids were smart enough to think of anything better.

She ignored the yells of the children.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Katsu nearly jumped out of her seat at the loud yellings of a child.

"Oh wow. I couldn't tell at all." She huffed out, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

The certain child currently mocking her was the academy bully, Domen Tetsuo. He was a childish boy that seemed to complain a lot. He wasn't too skillful but he had popularity.

"Well then listen well! I need you to do my math for me." He grinned happily, looking as if he figured out a mind-blowing fact.

Katsu examined the boy closely before turning away, eyes closed.

"No."

And there she was. On the floor bleeding. Wasn't that just great? It was a normal thing now. Tetsuo would ask for her to do his homework for him, then he would pound her to the ground when she refused.

Just a normal day.

Then again, she could've gone the easy way out by actually doing his homework but where was the fun in that. She wasn't going to let this bully tell her what to do.

"Katsu."

Her father was home for once. He wasn't usually at the house due to ninja missions but when he was, Katsu wished he wasn't.

His eyes examined over his daughter's injuries. It was normal by now so seeing her hurt wasn't new.

"Get cleaned up. I want you out in the training fields by 3:00."

Katsu nodded tiredly and stumbled her way to the bathroom. Her father was so neutral about her injuries that it hurt Katsu. Why couldn't at least act a bit worried? How the hell did her mother fall in love with this rock?

She looked up to the mirror to see her bruised face. She had a purple splotch on her cheek and a few cuts on her nose. Her arms were littered with cuts and bruises as well. At least her legs were fine.

"You got this Katsu." She glared at her reflection. "You've done it before, you can do it again."

* * *

Usually, her injuries would be healed by the time she came back to the shop. If they weren't, she would cover them with bandages. Freaking out Fujio was something not on her list.

"Ah kid, what the hell happened to ya?"

Kastu didn't have time to heal this time. Her nose had a nasty cut and bandages were littered across her face. It was clear as day that it hurt to take a step.

"Nothing you need to worry about." She walked into the shop, getting ready to work. "I'm fine."

Her words weren't convincing enough for the older man. He huffed, grabbing the arm of the child. Katsu winced slightly.

"You are clearly hurt. What the hell does the academy do to give you injuries like that?!"

Katsu mumbled a bit, pulling her arm out of the man's grip.

"It wasn't the academy. Just… some training accident."

She could feel the gaze of the older man on her back. She shivered and ignored it.

"Well, you ain't workin today like that."

Katsu opened her mouth to argue but was cut off by the man picking her up.

"H-Hey!"

Fujio ignored the child's complaints and set her on a metal table.

"Here, let's fix your bandages. Shall we?"

Katsu hunched over, not replying. Fujio peeled off the mess of her wrappings, cringing at the purple hues of her skin.

"Jeez, what kind of accident didja have?"

Katsu stayed quiet, letting him wrap up her wounds. Once he finished he looked towards her, his eyes soft.

"Hey kid, why don't you take a rest today. There's not as much business today so I should be fine."

Katsu opened her mouth to argue but stopped. It would be nice to get a rest.

"Okay…"

She jumped off the table, heading towards the exit.

"Katsu."

Katsu stopped walking

"You'll tell me if anything is going on, right?"

Katsu felt her throat tightened and she looked away. Tears threatened to fall from her face. Taking a breath, she replied.

"I'm fine."


End file.
